UPDATE

Mark Schomburg, 52, plead guilty to murder at noon today before Judge John Fostel at 271st District Court in Decatur. He received a 40-year prison sentence in exchange for the guilty plea. Schomburg killed Susan Whisenant last August at his home on County Road 3332 in Paradise. Whisenant was from Missouri and had recently moved in with Schomburg as his girlfriend. Schomburg slit Whisenant’s throat with a knife and proceeded to mutilate her body days after the death. Wise County Sheriff David Walker said it was the worst case of “overkill” he’d ever seen in all his years in law enforcement. After an overpowering scent of death and decay overwhelmed the area, the sheriff’s department was notified, and they found Whisenant’s decomposing body wrapped in a tarp in a barn near the home. Walker complemented his crime scene team and investigators for their thoroughness in the case. After being arrested Aug. 17, 2011, Schomburg has remained in Wise County Jail under a $2 million bond. He’ll soon be transferred to a state prison. Investigator Josh Reynolds said the family of Whisenant was satisfied with the sentence.